1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of telecommunications. More particularly, the present invention relates to an interactive voice response (IVR) system for managing customer calls.
2. Acronyms
The written description provided herein contains acronyms which refer to various telecommunications services, components and techniques, as well as features relating to the present invention. Although some of these acronyms are known, use of these acronyms is not strictly standardized in the art. For purposes of the written description herein, acronyms will be defined as follows:
Dual Tone Multi Frequency (DTMF)
Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
3. Description of Background Information
Many companies utilize IVR call management systems in order to handle and route incoming telephone calls. This is especially true for calls not requiring a live operator to assist the caller. IVR systems have been phenomenally successful and enjoy widespread use because they generate enormous cost savings at customer call centers, due to a reduction in required staff.
Conventional IVR systems are well-suited to providing small amounts of information to a user in real-time. However, conventional IVR systems have shortcomings, particularly with respect to larger amounts of information or instruction sets longer than one or two sentences. The primary reason for this shortcoming is the short-term memory and cognitive limitations inherent in the average caller. That is, most callers are not well adapted to remembering long strings of information (e.g., a long sequential recitation of tasks) presented in a short period of time, especially when sequence-specific procedures are presented. Further, conventional IVR systems require the caller to remember various navigational control keys, i.e., forward, backward, repeat, continue, etc. Moreover, conventional IVR systems lack the ability and flexibility to present long, detailed sequential instructions sets to a caller in a manner suitable to the average caller's cognitive capabilities. Further, conventional IVR systems also assume that the caller has performed a particular step correctly. Successive steps may be impossible to perform when a previous step has been performed incorrectly. This approach may lead to customer frustration and dissatisfaction.
As a result, it would be desirable to have a IVR system that would allow a caller to perform a series of sequential tasks, based on an instruction set, at the caller's own pace. The present invention overcomes the problems associated with the prior art.